SANAA, 8 March 2007 — Yemeni government forces have killed more than 160 rebel fighters in fierce clashes in the past two weeks in the northern province of Saada, a military official said yesterday.
“The toll among the elements of terrorism and sabotage led by Abdul Malik Al-Houthi have reached more than 160 in the last two weeks,” the official said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry.
The statement, posted on the ministry’s website, did not give the death toll among the army forces. The official, whose name was not released, said that “commanding leaders” in the outlawed Believing Youth armed group were among those killed in the fighting.
A source close to the rebels told Arab News by phone from Saada that the rebels’ casualty figures announced by the army were “propaganda.”
